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Sun, Aug 17 2014 - Carpe Diem at Island Ford (Summer Edition) (View Original Event Details)

Trip Leader(s): Lisa
Participants:Lisa, Janice, Silvia, Eve, Ron S, Toni, Carm H, Carolyn Naser, Wendy, Suzanne

Write Up:

We began our time together by describing our favorite parts of summer.  Funny, no one mentioned sudden torrential showers, because that's what we got.  We were about halfway finished with our hike (i.e., about as far from our cars as we possibly could be) when Toni noticed she didn't need her sunglasses anymore.  Before our brains even had time to register the darkening skies, we collectively wondered, "what is that sound?"  We very quickly realized it was the breeze springing up and rustling the treetops.  This was instantly followed by the realization that said breeze brought a spatter of raindrops on the leaves.  Within seconds the skies had opened up.  Within minutes we were soaked through to the skin.  Every inch of skin.  No thunder, no lightning, just a steady drenching downpour that lasted about 15 minutes.

Being true hardcore AOC'ers, we trudged through the newly formed creeks that had replaced the trail, and nary a complaint was uttered.  We even marveled in the beauty of the impromptu waterfalls that sprang up and wondered if the turtle we'd encountered earlier appreciated the bath.

Then out came the sun and dried up all the rain, just in time for us to shake out our soggy scraps of paper that held poetic words to move us all profoundly.  We conjured the spirits of Robin Williams, Shel Silverstein, Emily Dickinson, Wayne Dyer, and William Shakespeare just to name a few, and shared some very special moments together alongside the river.  We also enjoyed some whimsical words about a hubristic fish and the invention of beer.

Thanks to all of you for being such good sports on a day that promised a "zero percent" chance of rain.  A special thanks to Carmen for sweeping.

“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a flying, and this same flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying.”

 Carpe Diem!